Minnesota Gophers' Jimmy Gjere warms up during the second day of open practice for the Minnesota Gophers football team on August 5, 2012 at the Bierman Field Athletic Building on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, Minn. (Pioneer Press: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo)

Even before Jimmy Gjere decided over the weekend to give up football, the Gophers had a backup plan.

Gjere was a highly touted recruit in 2010 out of Irondale High School who started at right tackle as a redshirt freshman. But after he suffered a concussion last season, coaches came to realize it could be career-threatening.

“I think in the back of a lot of people’s mind, in (Gjere’s) mind, the training staff’s mind, our coaching staff’s mind, this was a possibility,” University of Minnesota offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Matt Limegrover said Tuesday, Aug. 14. “It’s sad. And it’s not something you wanted to have happen. But you had contingencies. When it’s an injury that happens out of the blue, that’s the one that kind of knocks you back on your tail end. This one is sad, it’s unfortunate, but let’s put Plan B in and move forward.”

The Gophers were set at left tackle with junior Ed Olson, a returning starter for most of last season. At right tackle, their two best options were redshirt freshman Josh Campion, who missed last season because of a concussion but is healthy again, and redshirt freshman Foster Bush.

If necessary, they could move sophomore backup left tackle Marek Lenkiewicz to the right side. Or they could turn to one of their top freshmen, Jonah Pirsig from Blue Earth or Ben Lauer from Plymouth, instead of redshirting both.

Campion (6 feet 5, 310 pounds) and Bush (6-5, 303) aren’t as big as Gjere (6-7, 325). But they are stronger, according to coaches, and were battling him for the starting job at the start of fall camp.

Campion, a Fergus Falls High School product, already was getting slightly more time with the first-team offense than Gjere. Now Bush, a Menasha, Wis., native, will get even more opportunities, Limegrover said.

“I don’t have to come up with ways to split up those reps to try to be fair with everybody,” Limegrover said. “Now (Bush is) getting force-fed a ton of reps. But I think he’s the first one to tell you, as all these guys will, they would rather have Jimmy on board and in that meeting room and on the field.”

The Gophers were in a lot worse shape last season after Gjere was hurt against Michigan in the fifth game of the season. Gophers coach Jerry Kill said the line goes 10 deep now.

Even with Gjere, the line was going to be young and lacking star power. There are no senior offensive linemen on the roster. Olson was the only player to get any all-conference mention in preseason publications. But Campion is the only projected starter who didn’t play last season.

So the Gophers were expecting their line this year to give quarterback MarQueis Gray much better protection and create more running lanes for the offensive backfield.

The bigger splash could be on the way. The Gophers have been able to see why the likes of Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin also wanted the 6-9, 295-pound Pirsig. He’s not just a giant, “he’s smart; he’s got good feet,” Kill said. The 6-6, 265-pound Lauer wasn’t as highly recruited out of Wayzata High School, but he’s also pretty athletic for his size.

Arguably Kill’s top 2011 recruit was St. Thomas Academy lineman Isaac Hayes, who is good enough to play guard this year but he’s been asked to learn the center position just in case.

The Gophers lost a potential star in Gjere, but Limegrover said it wasn’t a topic of conversation in practice.

“We haven’t dwelled on it because we have so much work we have to do,” he said. “There’s a group of kids who are now anxious at the opportunity to step up and take the reps that were created with Jimmy’s departure.”

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